Mystic Orbs Slot Machine – Free Play & Review

Mystic Orbs is one of the new ELK Studios slots, and they’ve chosen a theme that should work best for the Chinese market. With a stone wall placed behind the reels, and with a mix of symbols that mostly revolves around writing, legendary creatures, and other signs that I don’t recognize, it’s not quite typical for the category it is in.

If we look at the symbols which are available in Mystic Orbs, the list starts with the Yin Yang logo, continues with two others that show writing and a circle, and then we get images of the turtle, dragon, lion, bird, and a golden emperor.

Developer

ELK Studios is a developer with experience, but it doesn’t release a lot of new games. They typically go for about one new slot per month, and they currently have over 60 titles in their collection. From games set in Mexico, to those with Spanish bullfighters, or adventures in locations all over the world, their themes tend to take the player to a lot of different places, and they’re generally quite enjoyable.

How To Play It

The standard betting rules apply, at least for an ELK Studios slot, so you’re using 100 coins each time, but with the total amount going from $0.20 to $100.

It’s a Cluster Pays slot, with 5×5 reels, where you need at least 5 symbols of the same type landing in a cluster together. For the better rewards, you need clusters of 18 or more symbols forming, and of course certain symbols will pay more than others. Up to 2,000x the stake can be paid just by forming a cluster.

Special Features

After you form winning clusters, you will find that there is a cascading reels mechanic in place as well. You get winning symbols replaced with new ones, and if this leads to more clusters, then you get additional cascades as well.

There will be wild symbols present, and of course you will be able to use them as substitutes. They just need to land next to a group of symbols, and if they can create a cluster together, they will do so. There is also the possibility of forming wild-only clusters, which will pay the same prize as the top symbol would.

There is an additional reel that’s horizontal, at the top, and to gain access to its features you will need Orb Wilds landing underneath them, on the same column.

The Orb Wild can be used in a cluster of symbols, as a substitute, but even if it doesn’t help that way, it will still be useful. It will explode when it’s not acting as a substitute, and the symbols in its vicinity will be removed. Depending on whether it’s a regular or a charged orb, you get either the column’s features, or all the extra features active.

You can get a bonus feature out of them, additional cascades, multipliers for your wins, symbol upgrades, or it can activate the Orb Siege (modifies symbols found next to the Orb, into wilds or symbols of the same type).

Finally, a free spins feature is also available, with 5 rounds triggered and the option to retrigger them each time that you get 5 orbs collected. You can get inside by landing 5 orbs in a single spin, even if it’s over multiple cascades. Multipliers go only up, during free spins.

Maximum Payouts

With a 10,000x the stake top prize, Mystic Orbs does better than plenty of other slot machines with a similar risk profile. Medium-high volatility describes its gameplay, but the RTP is only 95%.

Summary

Mystic Orbs would’ve been an excellent slot machine, if the RTP wasn’t so low, at only 95%. Otherwise, it’s a fun game, with an Oriental theme and a unique mix of features that players can explore.